Safety device for railway points or switches.



SAF-ETYDE-VICE FOR RAILWAY-POINTS 0B SWlT-CH'S.

` l (Applieion med um 1s, 1902.) 4 (No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet -2.

ANo. 702,593.` .Patented lune 17,1902;

' SQ RUGDZEA.

SAFETY DEVICE FR RMLWAY POINTS, 0B SWITCHES.

(Application ma mi. 1e, 1962.)

3 Sheets-,Sheet 3. 4

(No Model.)

UNITED YSTATES PATENT FFIC.'

SAVA ROGOZEA, OFBRUSSELS, BELGIUM.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR RAILWAY POINTS;KORSWITCHES.V

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.y 702,593, dated June .1'7, 1902.

Application filed March 18, 19402. Serial No. 98,731. (No model.)

To all wil/ 07W tm/tty culwern:

Be it known that'I, SAVA"ROGOZEA,'tech nical engineer, a subjectoftheKing of Rouand useful Improvements in Safety Devices for Railway Pointsor Switches,'"(for which applicationhas been made in Belgium, No.158,449, dated August 27, 1901 in Germany, dated December 12,1901; inEngland, No. 25,196, dated December 10, 1901; in Austria, dated December146,/1901; inRussia, dated December 17,1901; in Hungary, dated December18, 1901; in France,'dated February 27, 1902; in Switzerland, datedFebruary 27, 1902; in Luxembourg, dated February 26, 1902; in Italy,dated February 28,1902; in Sweden, dated February 27 1902; in Norway,dated February 27, 1902, land in Denmark, dated February 27, 1902,)1ofwhiehthe following is a specification. p

The present inventionrelates to a safety device for railway points yorswitches, the object of which is lto prevent derailments, defectivemaking up of trains, collisions of wagons, &c'., which are frequentlyproduced at the points.

The improved apparatus for this Objectis designed to act in sucha waythat when the points have been properly closed it locks them in thisposition before'thepassage of theiirst wheel of the train or wagon,while if they are improperly closed it' rst closes them and thenkeepsthem closed, this closing of the points being also maintained bythe apparatus itself during the complete passage of a wagon and a littlewhile after said passage. The apparatus is 'formed by the combination ofa pedal mechanismV for closing the points and keeping them closed at thetime of the passage of the 'first Wheel over the pedal and a pumpmechanism or hydraulic brake acting after the passage of said wheel andthe succeeding wheels to retard the automatic rise of the pedal-that isto say, the .disengageproved apparatus Fig. 2, an elevation in lonlgitudinal section of the -casing for protecting the mechanism and of themechanism contained therein; Fig. 3, a horizontal section of the pumpfor regulating the movement of the points. Figs. 4,' 5, and 6 show,respectively, in elevation the position of the, operating parts whenPthe apparatusA closes and locks the points to the left, to the right,and when the said apparatus isi'n repose-that is to say, is in aposition' to allow the points to move freely; while Fig. `7` showstheapplication of the apparatus to systems ofpoints operated by aneccentric plate. I

The manipulation of the points from the cabin or from an eccentric plateby ordinary means causes the displacement to right or left of theclosing and engaging block or tongue a, which is mountedon an arm b,pivoting vertically in a'protecting-box c, which arm is operated by themovements of the switch. The pedale, which is adapted to be operated bythe iiange of a wheel g, is mounted upon the end of, a lever d, whichlatter is partially inclosed in said protecting-box and is'adapted tooscillate ona trunnion f when the pedal is actuated. The opposite end ofthis lever has anengaging head h of pyramiydal or other suitable formenits upper side, the lateral faces of which 4head have an inclinationcorresponding to the faces of the engaging block or tongue a.

If the points'are dulyclosed, the engaging head h, rising by thelowering of the pedal, will simply lock the engaging block-or tongue aand prevent any premature movement of the points during the passage ofthe train, while if the tongue is not properly closed the engaging headh in rising will first actuate the tongue a, pushing it to one side orother in order to insure the complete closing ofthe /points to right orleft, and will then nally lock this tongue, as already stated and withthe object set forth. j j l A little play 'in the attachment `of thetongue a to the arm b allows said tongue to yield slightly to one sideor the other in case the engaging head is just infront of it-that is tosay, in case the points should be partly open-in order to allow of theirbeing closed even where there is a dead-point. The points thus beingclosed and secured in position,

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they must be maintained in this position during a certain time, and atany rate until the passage of the following wheel, which will act likethe first wheel. For this object the pump mechanism which regulates thereleasing or progressive unlocking of the points acts in such a way thatthe engaging block or tongue a is caused to remain momentarily locked bythe engaging head h after the wheel has passed the pedal e and crossedthe points. The unlocking of this tongue, which would be producedimmediately by the rise of the pedal e under the action of a springj,must thus be opposed and retarded by a resistance the force of which issuitably calculated. For this object the rise of the pedal e is retardedby the action of a pump or hydraulic brake k of special construction,the piston-rod of which is connected with an arm t, projecting from thelever d of the pedal, preferably at its trunnion-point.

The hydraulic brake 7tconsists of a pumpbody having two horizontalcylinders m n, arranged one behind the other and separated by anintermediate box or casing o, cast on them. In the two cylinders m npistons p q are mounted in tandem upon a common shaft fr, and a conicalvalve s, sliding with slight friction on this shaft between the twopistons, closes an. orifice which leads from the foremost cylinder minto the intermediate box 0 under the action of a spring t, mounted insaid box and supported against a fork or angle-piece u therein. Theportion of the shaft fr on which the valve s may slide has three notcheso w Figs. 2 and 3, of unequal depth cut therein, said notches formingpassages of different section between the valve and the shaft.

The part of the pump-body (the intermediate box and parts of thecylinders) comprised between the two pistonsp and q having beencompletely filled with liquid, (glycerin, for instance,) the working ofthe apparatus takes place as follows: Vhen the pedal is lowered bythepassage of a wheel, the foremost piston p is pushed forward and forcesthe liquid from the cylinder m into the intermediate box o, while theother piston q sucks into its cylinder n the liquid thus forced out ofthe first cylinder, the valve s opening, of course, to give passage tothe liquid and the engaging head 7L simultaneously locking the tongue d,as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. The foremost piston p having reached the endof its course after the passage of the wheel over the pedal, the valve sstands over the middle notch Yw in the shaft, in which position itcloses afresh the orifices of the foremost cylinder m under the actionof the spring t in the intermediate box. The spring j of thetongue-supporting lever immediately comes into action and raises thepedal e in order to unlock the engaging block or tongue ct; but it mustsimultaneously return the pistons p q backward. The quantity of glycerinpreviously forced into the box o by the foremost piston p thus returnsinto the foremost cylinder m first by the narrow passage fw and then bythe larger passage o. The return of the pistons permitting of theunlocking of the engaging block or tongue is thus effected first veryslowly and then more rapidly. By varying the pressure of the springj ofthe pedal-lever by means of an adjusting-screw y a more or less rapidunlocking of the tongue will of course be obtained. The progressive orbeveled notch as, over which the valve S comes when the piston p travelsover a longer course than usual-for instance, during the passage of asomewhat-worn wheel, the flange of which depresses the pedal c to agreater extent--allows of a momentarily more rapid return of the liquidinto the cylinder m--that is to say, the duration of the releasing ofthe points is not appreciably increased in this case.

In order to compensate for losses of liquid in the cylinders, areservoir a is employed, which is in communication with the cylinder mby a tube entering the cylinder at a point which is just behind the rearend of the piston p when this latter is returned to the position ofrepose, the said piston being of suflicient length to allow of thefeed-aperture remaining closed during the whole course.

I declare that what I claim is- 1. In a safety device for insuring theclosing of switch-points before the passage of the wheels over saidpoints, the combination of a pivoted lever, a pedal on one end of saidlever in such position as to be depressed by a portion of a wheelapproaching the switch, a spring adapted to normally hold up said pedal,a pyramidal head mounted on said lever, a block having an edge and twobeveled faces adapted to be engaged by said pyramidal head, and meansfor connecting said block to the switch-poin ts, whereby the throwingover of said points to one side or other is insured before the wheelreaches the switch-points.

2. In a safety device for locking switchpoints in a closed position andmaintaining them closed until a predetermined time after the passage ofthe wheels, the combination of a pivoted lever, means for resilientlyholding np said lever, a pedal connected to said lever and adapted to bedepressed by a wheel 4approaching the points, means connected to theswitch and adapted to be operated upon by said lever to lock theswitch-points, an arm upon said lever, a rod attached to said arm, twopistons mounted upon said arm with a space between them, cylinders inwhich said pistons are adapted to operate, a box in communicationbetween said cylinders, a fluid between said pistons, a valve mounted toslide upon the rod in said box between said pistons, means for holdingsaid valve normally against the end of the foremost cylinder and notchesin said rod, whereby the return of the fluid into the foremost cylinderis allowed to take place slowly, and the release of the switch-points isretarded.

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3. In a safety device for insuring the clos-l ing of switch-points andfor maintaining them p closed until a predetermined time after thepassage of a Wheel over said points, the com- 5 bination of a pivotedlever, means for resili-` ently holding up said lever, a pedal upon saidlever adapted to be operated by a wheel approaching the points, alocking-head upon said lever, means connected with' the switch roadapted to be engaged by said head, a pair of Huid-pressure cylinders,pistons tting in said cylinders; means for connecting said pistons tosaid lever, and means for permitting

